The FDA ruled that products containing high fructose corn syrup can't be labeled as "natural." This may not sound like a big deal to us, but this is a huge ruling in the food and beverage industry. I've warned you about the dangers of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in the past, but it still seems to be everywhere. We can't swing a dead cat in a grocery store (not that we are likely to do such a thing) without hitting dozens of products chock-full of HFCS.
How bad is it? American children are eating and drinking high fructose corn syrup in the amount of 62 pounds of this one sweetener every year. There's loads of HFCS in everything kids (and many adults) eat and drink such as soda, "fruit" drinks, cookies, gum, jelly, and baked goods. In fact, the national consumption of this hidden junk food grew from zero in 1966 to sixty-three pounds per person by 2001. But the controversy isn't whether or not high fructose corn syrup is healthy or whether or not it's natural. The Corn Refiners Association insists that it's a natural sweetener because it's derived from a natural product, but the FDA doesn't buy it.
This new ruling that put the whammy on HFCS was in response to an inquiry by an online consumer watchdog site. The FDA checked the composition of HFCS and discovered that synthetic fixing agents are used in the manufacturing process. And this violates the FDA's standard policy on the term "natural" which states that a natural product "is one that has not had any artificial or synthetic substances added to the product that would not normally be expected to be in the food." We will probably be healthier for it if we just put whatever it is back on the shelf the next time we see high fructose corn syrup or sugar near the top of the ingredient list when we are checking labels at the grocery store.
This starts to make a little bit of sense when we start to realize why Jesus Christ referred to himself as "the bread of life." Food must be eaten, digested, and assimilated to become part of our life that will give strength to our physical bodies. It is written that man shall not live by bread alone. Part of the reason this was written is because the Word of God is food for our spiritual life, and it operates along the same principle as our physical body that needs bread to sustain growth. The nourishment from food is a substance that does not come from within ourselves, but from without, because like the natural realm, the spiritual realm also needs a point of contact outside of the individual. We cannot live on our own feelings, experiences, or upon the sweetest words that come from within, which may excite, warm, or interest us, but cannot support, feed, or sustain our true spiritual growth.
In the new covenant, we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, who entered into heaven itself to appear in the holy of holies, the sacred chamber of the heart of God's glorious presence for us. Jesus Christ is the promised seed and faithful High Priest, who fulfilled all the law, and is set between God and us because he is connected to both sides, and thereby he is able to work with God and with us. My mind boggles over God's heart of love, His compassion, and the tenderness to have Jesus Christ, who is the greatest food of all time, the bread of life, to establish a true and vital spiritual relationship between God and us.
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